Stress is on one of the important hazards faced by nursing staff. Although various intervention methods to reduce stress have been developed, its effectiveness among Malaysian nurses has yet to be established. This study involved 185 health nursing staff working at health districts Kemaman and Dungun in Terengganu. Health nursing staff from Kemaman (n=94) was selected as intervention group whereas those from Dungun (n=91) were chosen as controls. Members of the intervention group were given stress awareness education. They were taught how to reduce stress by relaxation methods. Teaching was conducted through lectures, practical training and providing a stress guidebook. A stress reliever card and letter reminding respondents to practice stress reduction methods were sent every two weeks. The total intervention period was 6 weeks. The control did not receive any education on stress reduction or encouragement to practice any stress reduction techniques throughout this period. The effectiveness of the intervention programme was measured by comparing changes in stress symptoms scores. Stress symptoms were measured using a modified Personal Stress Inventory questionnaire. The study found significant reduction of stress symptoms (42.66 ± 20.36 to 35.51 ± 22.60) in the intervention group after intervention compared to before intervention. However there was no significant difference in change of mean score of stress symptoms between both groups. Further studies need to be conducted to establish an intervention programme, which is suitable and effective in reducing stress among health nursing staff.
We do not know how medical doctors perceive the risk of cancer as a cause of death. Medical doctors provide advice and information on health risks to the general public. How they perceive these risks influences the way they behave towards these risks and the way they will communicate these risks. We would like to ascertain how medical students perceive cancer as a health risk. This will hehv us determine misperceptions among medical students that need to be addressed before they practice medicine. A cross-sectional study was conducted among
all UPM medical students (2000-2001) using sefadministered questionnaires. A total of 339 (88.3%) students responded to the questionnaires. The internal consistency of items was good (Cronbach Alpha >0,7). Cancer was perceived as the 3rd leading risk of death after motor vehicle accidents (I") and heart diseases/cardiovascular disorders (2"d ). The breast was perceived as the organ with the highest risk of developing cancer. Smoking was perceived to be the leading risk factor for developing cancer. There is a dpjference in risk perception of diseases, cancer target organs and cancer risk factors based on gender and ethnicity. There was moderate to fair correlation ( r = 0.41-0.57) between perception of risks of death, cancer target organs and risks factors of cancer (p
This article provides a detailed examination of Malaysian occupational health agencies and their roles in formulating and enforcing standards, promoting occupational health and safety (OSH), and providing advisory services. Available OSH training is described, and the need for policies and personnel in various industries is outlined. Further, the authors discuss how international models and collaboration have influenced Malaysian OSH, and how some successes can be repeated and failures remedied.
How people perceive risk influences their behaviour towards these risks. We do not know how workers perceive risk of dying from diseases or accidents. This study was conducted among 198 workers of a security company in Malaysia. The workers were asked to score on a Likert scale of 1 to 5 the perceived risk of death of Malaysians from selected causes of death. The highest perceived risks of death were, in order of ranking, motor vehicle accidents, cancer and diabetes mellitus whereas according to the certified causes of death in Malaysia the highest risks of death among the selected items were cardiovascular disease, cancer and stroke. The difference in perception and mortality data needs be addressed.
Infection is a frequent complication after an acute stroke and may affect stroke outcome. We identified predictors of early infection, type of infection, their relation to initial disability, and the eventual outcome during the inpatient period.